tumble

/ˈtʌmbl̩/

//ˈtʌmbl̩// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tumble" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tumble” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,050. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,050
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fall, especially end over end.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tumble · tumble · English

tumble · rank #17,050 · 9 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,050
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trojan

Nearest frequency peer: trojan (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tumble”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tumble” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tumble vs turtle
67% similar
tumble vs tumblr
83% similar
tumble vs Tuttle
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tumble
PropertyValue
Headwordtumble
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʌmbl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,050
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tumble”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).tumblelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “trojan” (#17,049), “unleash” (#17,051), “tremendously” (#17,048). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tumble” is #17,050. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around tumble (IPA /ˈtʌmbl̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,050 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for tumble, with forms such as "tmuble", "ttumble", and "tubmle". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "turtle", "tumblr", "Tuttle", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch … The correct English form is tumble, spelled T-U-M-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fall, especially end over end.
  2. 2
    A disorderly heap.
  3. 3
    An act of sexual intercourse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tumble appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.
  2. When at last we stopped in a tumble of bodies on the grass, laughing, and in Dad's case, out of breath, we were like little kids (I mean 5 or 6! After all I am 12!) at the end of a playground session.

Etymology

From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen), Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen, German taumeln and Danish tumle.

This word in other languages

caída(Español)culbute(Français)Sturz(Deutsch)tombo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • tmuble
  • ttumble
  • tubmle
  • tumbble
  • tumbel
  • tumblle
  • tumlbe
  • tummble
  • utmble

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tumble - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

tmuble2ttumble1tubmle2tumbble1tumbel2tumblle1tumlbe2tummble1
Edit distance from "tumble"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tumble"?
"tumble" is spelled T-U-M-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʌmbl̩/.
What does "tumble" mean?
As a noun, "tumble" means: A fall, especially end over end.
What words are commonly confused with "tumble"?
"tumble" is commonly confused with "turtle", "tumblr", "Tuttle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tumble"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tumble" is /ˈtʌmbl̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "tumble"?
From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tumble", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trojan#17,049untrue#17,053Tobago#17,044taxing#17,043

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Stacey9 variantssolemn9 variantsbedding9 variantsbender9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list